A phylogeny for side-necked turtles (Chelonia: Pleurodira) based on mitochondrial and nuclear gene sequence variation

Aspects of the phylogeny of pleurodiran turtles are contentious, particularly within the Chelidae. Morphological analyses group the long-necked Australasian Chelodina and the long-necked South American Chelus and Hydromedusa into a single clade, suggesting a common derived origin of the long neck and associated habits that predated the separation of Australia from South America. In contrast, published analyses of 12SrRNA and cytochrome b sequences suggest that the long-necked Chelodina are more closely related to the short-necked Australasian genera than to either Chelus or Hydromedusa. This paper adds partial sequences of 16S rRNA and CO1 mitochondrial genes and partial sequences of the nuclear oncogene c-mos to test a range of previous hypotheses on the phylogenetic relationships among chelid turtles. In total, 1382 nucleotides were available for each of 25 taxa after elimination of ambiguously aligned regions. These taxa included representatives of all the genera of the turtle families Chelidae and Pelomedusidae, the three sub-genera of Phrynops, and recognized sub-generic groups of Elseya and Chelodina. Of the four genes examined, 12S rRNA was the most informative, followed by c-mos with 16S rRNA and CO1 the least informative. The molecular data support the currently accepted arrangement for pelomedusid genera, that is, a sister relationship between the African Pelusios and Pelomedusa and a clade comprising the South American Peltoceplhalus and Podocnemis with the Madagascan Erymnochelys. However, there is also support for Erymnochelys and Podocnemis as sister taxa to the exclusion of Peltocephalus (bootstrap values of 69–80%) which is at odds with the most commonly accepted arrangement. The South American chelids are monophyletic (76–82%). This clade includes the long-necked Chelus and Hydromedusa, but excludes the Australasian long-necked Chelodina. Furthermore, the South American long-necked chelids are not themselves monophyletic, with 98–100% bootstrap values for the node supporting Chelus and the remaining South American chelids to the exclusion of Hydromedusa. Hence, the hypothesis of a monophyletic grouping of the long-necked genera of South America and Australasia is not supported by the molecular data. Although reciprocal monophyly of the South American and Australasian chelid faunas was the most likely and the most parsimonious arrangement in all but one analysis, bootstrap support for the monophyly of the Australasian chelids was low (52–66%). The South American chelids, Chelodina and the short-necked Australasian chelids form an unresolved trichotomy. The genera Phrynops and Elseya are paraphyletic, leading to a recommendation to elevate the three sub-genera of Phrynops to generic status and support for previous suggestions to erect a new genus for Elseya latistermum and close relatives. A revised classification of the extant Pleurodira is presented, consistent with the phylogenetic relationships that emerge from this study.     

Molecular phylogeny of the Chinese ranids inferred from nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequences

The phylogeny of representative species of Chinese ranids was reconstructed using two nuclear (tyrosinase and rhodopsin) and two mitochondrial (12S rRNA, 16S rRNA) DNA fragments. Maximum parsimony, Bayesian, and maximum likelihood analyses were employed. In comparison with the results from nuclear and mitochondrial data, we used nuclear gene data as our preferred phylogenetic hypothesis. We proposed two families (Ranidae, Dicroglossidae) for Chinese ranids, with the exception of genus Ingerana. Within Dicroglossidae, four tribes were supported including Dicroglossini, Paini, Limnonectini, and Occidozygini. A broader sampling strategy and evidence from additional molecular markers are required to decisively evaluate the evolutionary history of Chinese ranids.     

基于13 个内含子的序列探讨鲸目的系统发育关系

本文基于实验室筛选得到的13 对内含子标记,在鲸偶蹄目的15 个物种中进行有效扩增,并重建了这15
个物种的系统发育关系。结果表明,抹香鲸总科(Physeteroidea) 位于齿鲸亚目(Odontoceti)的基部,从而支
持了传统的齿鲸亚目的单系性。在海豚总科(Delphinoidea)内部,贝斯分析结果支持了鼠海豚科(Phocoenidae)
和一角鲸科(Monodontidae)的姐妹群关系,而后再与海豚科(Delphinidae)相聚。系统发育分析同时还
强烈支持了海豚科的四个属(Sousa,Tursiops,Stenella,Delphinus)组成一个单系的“复合体”。另外,我们的分
析结果并不支持瓶鼻海豚属(Tursiops)和原海豚属(Stenella)的单系性。基于松散分子钟的分歧时间估算与以
往文献中的结果没有明显差异。这些研究结果提示,核基因内含子序列有希望解决一些长期存在的鲸类系统发
育问题。     

Turtle origins: insights from phylogenetic retrofitting and molecular scaffolds

Adding new taxa to morphological phylogenetic analyses without substantially revising the set of included characters is a common practice, with drawbacks (undersampling of relevant characters) and potential benefits (character selection is not biased by preconceptions over the affinities of the ‘retrofitted’ taxon). Retrofitting turtles (Testudines) and other taxa to recent reptile phylogenies consistently places turtles with anapsid‐grade parareptiles (especially Eunotosaurus and/or pareiasauromorphs), under both Bayesian and parsimony analyses. This morphological evidence for turtle–parareptile affinities appears to contradict the robust genomic evidence that extant (living) turtles are nested within diapsids as sister to extant archosaurs (birds and crocodilians). However, the morphological data are almost equally consistent with a turtle–archosaur clade: enforcing this molecular scaffold onto the morphological data does not greatly increase tree length (parsimony) or reduce likelihood (Bayesian inference). Moreover, under certain analytic conditions, Eunotosaurus groups with turtles and thus also falls within the turtle–archosaur clade. This result raises the possibility that turtles could simultaneously be most closely related to a taxon traditionally considered a parareptile (Eunotosaurus) and still have archosaurs as their closest extant sister group.     

Characterization of DIP1, a novel nuclear protein in Drosophila melanogaster

We have recently identified in Drosophila melanogaster a new gene encoding a nuclear protein, DIP1. Here we report the developmental expression and the finding that DIP1 subcellular localization is in the nucleus and at the nuclear periphery during interphase in embryos. Interestingly, in humans, DIP1 antibody identified signals in nuclei from cultured cells and reacted with a rough 30kDa protein in Western blotting experiments, demonstrating evolutionary conservation.     

Molecular phylogeny of Allomyces macrogynus: Congruency between nuclear ribosomal RNA- and mitochondrial protein-based trees

We have sequenced the nuclear and mitochondrial small subunit rRNA genes (rns) and the mitochondrial genes coding for subunits 1 and 3 of the cytochrome oxidase (cox1 and cox3, respectively) of the chytridiomycete Allomyces macrogynus. Phylogenetic trees inferred from the derived COX1 and COX3 proteins and the nuclear rns sequences show with good bootstrap support that A. macrogynus is an early diverging fungus. The trees inferred from mitochondrial rns sequences do not yield a topology that is supported by bootstrap analysis. The similarity and the relative robustness of the nuclear rns and the mitochondrial protein-derived phylogenetic trees suggest that protein sequences are of higher value than rRNA sequences for reconstructing mitochondrial evolution. In addition, our trees support a monophyletic origin of mitochondria for the range of analyzed eukaryotes. Correspondence to: B. Franz Lang     

Gene structure of a chlorophyll a/c-binding protein from a brown alga: Presence of an intron and phylogenetic implications

A Laminaria saccharina genomic library in the phage EMBL 4 was used to isolate and sequence a full-length gene encoding a fucoxanthin-chlorophyll a/c-binding protein. Contrary to diatom homologues, the coding sequence is interrupted by an intron of about 900 bp which is located in the middle of the transit peptide. The deduced amino acid sequence of the mature protein is very similar to those of related proteins from Macrocystis pyrifera (Laminariales) and, to a lesser extent, to those from diatoms and Chrysophyceae. Seven of the eight putative chlorophyll-binding amino acids determined in green plants are also present. Alignments of different sequences related to the light-harvesting proteins (LHC) demonstrate a structural similarity among the three transmembrane helices and suggest a unique ancestral helix preceded by two β-turns. The β-turns are conserved in front of the second helices of the chlorophyll a/c proteins more so than in chlorophyll a/b proteins. Phylogenetic trees generated from sequence data indicate that fucoxanthin-chlorophyll-binding proteins diverged prior to the separation of photosystem I and photosystem II LHC genes of green plants. Among the fucoxanthin-containing algae, LHC I or II families could not be distinguished at this time. Received: 14 February 1996 / Accepted: 4 April 1996     

Towards a molecular phylogeny ofApiaceae subfamilyApioideae: Additional information from nuclear ribosomal DNA ITS sequences

Evolutionary relationships among 116 representatives (80 genera) ofApiaceae (Umbelliferae) subfam.Apioideae were investigated by comparative sequencing of the two internal transcribed spacers of the 18S–26S nuclear ribosomal DNA repeat. The resultant phylogenies, inferred using maximum parsimony and neighbor-joining methods, clarified the relationships of several genera whose phylogenetic placements have heretofore been problematic. Comparisons between the phylogenies inferred and the distribution of several phytochemical (coumarins, flavonoids, and phenylpropenes) and morphological (stomates, pollen, and cotyledonary shape) characters were also made, revealing that many of these characters (like those morphological and anatomical characters of the fruit) are highly homoplastic. It is not surprising then that systems of classification ofApioideae based on these characters, particularly with regard to tribal and subtribal designations and relationships, are unsatisfactory. The results of recent serological investigations of the subfamily support several relationships proposed herein using molecular data.     

Molecular phylogeny of the order Euryalida (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea), based on mitochondrial and nuclear ribosomal genes

The existing taxonomy of Euryalida, one of the two orders of the Ophiuroidea (Echinodermata), is uncertain and characterized by controversial delimitation of taxonomic ranks from genus to family-level. Their phylogeny was not studied in detail until now. We investigated a dataset of sequence from a mitochondrial gene (16S rRNA) and two nucleic genes (18S rRNA and 28S rRNA) for 49 euryalid ophiuroids and four outgroup species from the order Ophiurida.The monophyly of the order Euryalida was supported as was the monophyly of Asteronychidae, Gorgonocephalidae and an Asteroschematidae + Euryalidae clade. However, the group currently known as the Asteroschematidae was paraphyletic with respect to the Euryalidae. The Asteroschematidae + Euryalidae clade, which we recognise as an enlarged Euryalidae, contains three natural groups: the Asteroschematinae (Asteroschema and Ophiocreas), a new subfamily Astrocharinae (Astrocharis) and the Euryalinae with remaining genera. These subfamilies can be distinguished by internal ossicle morphology.     

Effect of cisplatin treatment on speckled distribution of a serine/arginine-rich nuclear protein CROP/Luc7A

The C-half of cisplatin resistance-associated overexpressed protein (CROP), an SR-related protein, comprises domains rich in arginine and glutamate residues (RE domain), and is rich in arginine and serine residues (RS domain). We analyzed the role of the individual domains of CROP in cellular localization, subnuclear localization, and protein-protein interaction. CROP fused with green fluorescent protein, GFP-CROP, localized exclusively to the nucleus and showed a speckled intranuclear distribution. The yeast two-hybrid system revealed that CROP interacted with SF2/ASF, an SR protein involved in RNA splicing, as well as CROP itself. The RE and RS domains were necessary for both the intranuclear speckled distribution and the protein-protein interaction. CROP was phosphorylated by mSRPK1, mSRPK2, and Clk1 in vitro, and when cells were treated with cisplatin the subnuclear distribution of GFP-CROP was changed. These results suggest that cisplatin affects RNA splicing by changing the subnuclear distribution of SR proteins including CROP.     

a molecular phylogeny of apiaceae subfamily Apioideae: evidence from nuclear ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer sequences

Phylogenetic relationships among 40 New World and Old World members of Apiaceae subfamily Apioideae, representing seven of the eight tribes and eight of the ten subtribes commonly recognized in the subfamily, were inferred from nucleotide sequence variation in the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions of 18-26S nuclear ribosomal DNA. Although the sequences are alignable, with only 11% of sites excluded from the analyses because of alignment ambiguity, divergence values in pairwise comparisons of unambiguous positions among all taxa were high and ranged from 0.5 to 33.2% of nucleotides in ITS 1 and from 0 to 33.2% of nucleotides in ITS 2. Average sequence divergence across both spacer regions was 18.4% of nucleotides. Phylogenies derived from ITS sequences estimated using neighbor-joining analysis of substitution rates, and maximum likelihood and parsimony methods give trees of essentially similar topology and indicate that: (1) there is little support for any existing system of classification of the subfamily that is based largely on morphological and anatomical features of the mericarp; (2) there is a major phylogenetic division within the subfamily, with one clade comprising the genus Smyrnium and those taxa belonging to Drude's tribes Dauceae, Scandiceae, and Laserpitieae and the other clade comprising all other examined taxa; and (3) the genera Arracacia, Coaxana, Coulterophytum, Enantiophylla, Myrrhidendron, Prionosciadium, and Rhodosciadium, all endemic to Mexico and Central America, comprise a clade but their relationships to other New World taxa are equivocal. A phylogeny derived from parsimony analysis of chloroplast DNA rpoC1 intron sequences is consistent with, but considerably less resolved than, relationships derived from these ITS regions. This study affirms that ITS sequences are useful for phylogenetic inference among closely related members of Apioideae but, owing to high rates of nucleotide substitution, are less useful in resolving relationships among the more ancestral nodes of the phylogeny.     

Mammalian evolution and biomedicine: new views from phylogeny

Recent progress resolving the phylogenetic relationships of the major lineages of mammals has had a broad impact in evolutionary biology, comparative genomics and the biomedical sciences. Novel insights into the timing and historical biogeography of early mammalian diversification have resulted from a new molecular tree for placental mammals coupled with dating approaches that relax the assumption of the molecular clock. We highlight the numerous applications to come from a well-resolved phylogeny and genomic prospecting in multiple lineages of mammals, from identifying regulatory elements in mammalian genomes to assessing the functional consequences of mutations in human disease loci and those driving adaptive evolution.     

Consideration of RNA secondary structure significantly improves likelihood-based estimates of phylogeny: examples from the bilateria

Sequences from ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes have made a huge contribution to our current understanding of metazoan phylogeny and indeed the phylogeny of all of life. That said, some parts of this rRNA-based phylogeny remain unresolved. One approach to increase the resolution of these trees would be to use more appropriate models of sequence evolution in phylogenetic analysis. RNAs transcribed from rRNA genes have a complex secondary structure mediated by base pairing between sometimes distant regions of the rRNA molecule. The pairing between the stem nucleotides has important consequences for their evolution which differs from that of unpaired loop nucleotides. These differences in evolution should ideally be accounted for when using rRNA sequences for phylogeny estimation. We use a novel permutation approach to demonstrate the significant superiority of models of sequence evolution that allow stem and loop regions to evolve according to separate models and, in common with previous studies, we show that 16-state models that take base pairing of stems into account are significantly better than simpler, 4-state, single-nucleotide models. One of these 16-state models has been applied to the phylogeny of the Bilateria using small subunit rRNA (SSU) sequences. Our optimal tree largely echoes previous results based on SSU in particular supporting the tripartite Bilaterian tree of deuterostomes, lophotrochozoans, and ecdysozoans. There are also a number of differences, however, perhaps most important of which is the observation of a clade consisting of the gastrotrichs plus platyheminthes that is basal to all other lophotrochozoan taxa. Use of 16-state models also appears to reduce the Bayesian support given to certain biologically improbable groups found using standard 4-state models.     

New insights into the nature and phylogeny of prasinophyte antenna proteins: Ostreococcus tauri, a case study

The basal position of the Mamiellales (Prasinophyceae) within the green lineage makes these unicellular organisms key to elucidating early stages in the evolution of chlorophyll a/b-binding light-harvesting complexes (LHCs). Here, we unveil the complete and unexpected diversity of Lhc proteins in Ostreococcus tauri, a member of the Mamiellales order, based on results from complete genome sequencing. Like Mantoniella squamata, O. tauri possesses a number of genes encoding an unusual prasinophyte-specific Lhc protein type herein designated "Lhcp". Biochemical characterization of the complexes revealed that these polypeptides, which bind chlorophylls a, b, and a chlorophyll c-like pigment (Mg-2,4-divinyl-phaeoporphyrin a5 monomethyl ester) as well as a number of unusual carotenoids, are likely predominant. They are retrieved to some extent in both reaction center I (RCI)- and RCII-enriched fractions, suggesting a possible association to both photosystems. However, in sharp contrast to previous reports on LHCs of M. squamata, O. tauri also possesses other LHC subpopulations, including LHCI proteins (encoded by five distinct Lhca genes) and the minor LHCII polypeptides, CP26 and CP29. Using an antibody against plant Lhca2, we unambiguously show that LHCI proteins are present not only in O. tauri, in which they are likely associated to RCI, but also in other Mamiellales, including M. squamata. With the exception of Lhcp genes, all the identified Lhc genes are present in single copy only. Overall, the discovery of LHCI proteins in these prasinophytes, combined with the lack of the major LHCII polypeptides found in higher plants or other green algae, supports the hypothesis that the latter proteins appeared subsequent to LHCI proteins. The major LHC of prasinophytes might have arisen prior to the LHCII of other chlorophyll a/b-containing organisms, possibly by divergence of a LHCI gene precursor. However, the discovery in O. tauri of CP26-like proteins, phylogenetically placed at the base of the major LHCII protein clades, yields new insight to the origin of these antenna proteins, which have evolved separately in higher plants and green algae. Its diverse but numerically limited suite of Lhc genes renders O. tauri an exceptional model system for future research on the evolution and function of LHC components.     

Molecular phylogeny of Chinese Rubia (Rubiaceae: Rubieae) inferred from nuclear and plastid DNA sequences

Rubia L. is the type genus of the coffee family Rubiaceae and the third largest genus in the tribe Rubieae, comprising ca. 80 species restricted to the Old World. China is an important diversity center for Rubia, where approximately half of its species occur. However, its internal phylogenetic relationships are still poorly understood. The objective of the present study is to contribute to the phylogenetic relationships within Rubia, using the nuclear internal transcribed spacer and six plastid markers and focusing on species from China. Twenty-seven species of Rubia were sampled to infer their phylogeny using Maximum parsimony, Maximum likelihood, and Bayesian analyses. The monophyly of Rubia is supported, provided that R. rezniczenkoana Litv. is excluded from Rubia and transferred to Galium as a new combination: G. rezniczenkoanum (Litv.) L. E Yang & Z. L. Nie. Within Rubia, two clades are clearly supported. They correspond to the traditional sect. Rubias.l. (A) and sect. Oligoneura Pojark. (B), and are morphologically mainly separable by their pinnate (A) versus palmate (B) leaf venation. Plesiomorphic features are the pinnate leaf veining in sect. Rubia s.l. and the occurrence of some species with opposite leaves and true stipules in sect. Oligoneura. In sect. Oligoneura one can assume an evolution from species with opposite leaves and true stipules (as in the R. siamensis Craib group) to those with whorls of two leaves and two leaf-like stipules (as in ser. Chinenses and the R. mandersii Collett & Hemsl. group) and finally with whorls of 6 or even more elements (as in ser. Cordifoliae). The correlation between clades recognized by DNA analyses and available differential morphological features is partly only loose, particularly in the group of R. cordifolia with 2×, 4×, and 6× cytotypes. This may be due to rapid evolutionary divergence and/or hybridization and allopolyploidy.     

CTNNBL1 is a novel nuclear localization sequence-binding protein that recognizes RNA-splicing factors CDC5L and Prp31

Nuclear proteins typically contain short stretches of basic amino acids (nuclear localization sequences; NLSs) that bind karyopherin α family members, directing nuclear import. Here, we identify CTNNBL1 (catenin-β-like 1), an armadillo motif-containing nuclear protein that exhibits no detectable primary sequence homology to karyopherin α, as a novel, selective NLS-binding protein. CTNNBL1 (a single-copy gene conserved from fission yeast to man) was previously found associated with Prp19-containing RNA-splicing complexes as well as with the antibody-diversifying enzyme AID. We find that CTNNBL1 association with the Prp19 complex is mediated by recognition of the NLS of the CDC5L component of the complex and show that CTNNBL1 also interacts with Prp31 (another U4/U6.U5 tri-snRNP-associated splicing factor) through its NLS. As with karyopherin αs, CTNNBL1 binds NLSs via its armadillo (ARM) domain, but displays a separate, more selective NLS binding specificity. Furthermore, the CTNNBL1/AID interaction depends on amino acids forming the AID conformational NLS with CTNNBL1-deficient cells showing a partial defect in AID nuclear accumulation. However, in further contrast to karyopherin αs, the CTNNBL1 N-terminal region itself binds karyopherin αs (rather than karyopherin β), suggesting a function divergent from canonical nuclear transport. Thus, CTNNBL1 is a novel NLS-binding protein, distinct from karyopherin αs, with the results suggesting a possible role in the selective intranuclear targeting or interactions of some splicing-associated complexes.     

Molecular phylogenetics of subtribe Aeridinae (Orchidaceae): insights from plastid matK and nuclear ribosomal ITS sequences

We conducted phylogenetic analyses using two DNA sequence data sets derived from matK, the maturase-coding gene located in an intron of the plastid gene trnK, and the internal transcribed spacer region of 18S–26S nuclear ribosomal DNA to examine relationships in subtribe Aeridinae (Orchidaceae). Specifically, we investigated (1) phylogenetic relationships among genera in the subtribe, (2) the congruence between previous classifications of the subtribe and the phylogenetic relationships inferred from the molecular data, and (3) evolutionary trends of taxonomically important characters of the subtribe, such as pollinia, a spurred lip, and a column foot. In all, 75 species representing 62 genera in subtribe Aeridinae were examined. Our analyses provided the following insights: (1) monophyly of subtribe Aeridinae was tentatively supported in which 14 subclades reflecting phylogenetic relationships can be recognized, (2) results are inconsistent with previous classifications of the subtribe, and (3) repeated evolution of previously emphasized characters such as pollinia number and apertures, length of spur, and column foot was confirmed. It was found that the inconsistencies are mainly caused by homoplasy of these characters. At the genus level, Phalaenopsis, Cleisostoma, and Sarcochilus are shown to be non-monophyletic.     

A phylogeny of Apiaceae tribe Scandiceae: evidence from nuclear ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer sequences

The evolutionary relationships among members of Apiaceae (Umbelliferae) tribe Scandiceae and representatives of all major lineages of Apioideae (including putatively allied Caucalideae) identified in earlier molecular studies were inferred from nucleotide sequence variation in the internal transcribed spacer regions (ITS1 and ITS2) of nuclear ribosomal DNA. In all, 134 accessions representing 18 genera commonly treated in Scandiceae were analyzed. Phylogenies estimated using maximum parsimony and distance methods were generally similar and suggest that: (1) Scandiceae form a well-supported clade, consisting of the genera Anthriscus, Athamanta (in part), Balansaea, Chaerophyllum, Conopodium, Geocaryum, Kozlovia, Krasnovia, Myrrhis, Myrrhoides, Neoconopodium, Osmorhiza, Scandix, Sphallerocarpus, and Tinguarra; (2) Athamanta is polyphyletic, with A. della-cellae allied with Daucus and A. macedonica placed close to Pimpinella; and (3) Rhabdosciadium and Grammosciadium find affinity with the Aegopodium group of umbellifers, whereas the placement of the monotypic Molopospermum cannot be inferred because of its high sequence divergence. The genus Bubon has been restored with two new combinations, B. macedonicum subsp. albanicum and B. macedonicum subsp. arachnoideum. Scandiceae arise within paraphyletic Caucalideae, the latter comprising two major lineages whose relationships to Scandiceae are not clear. Therefore, a broad treatment of Scandiceae is proposed, with subtribes Scandicinae, Daucinae, and Torilidinae (the latter two representing the Daucus and Torilis subgroups, respectively, of recent molecular systematic investigations).     

NUFIP1 (nuclear FMRP interacting protein 1) is a nucleocytoplasmic shuttling protein associated with active synaptoneurosomes

Fragile X syndrome, the most common cause of inherited mental retardation, is caused by the absence of FMRP (Fragile X Mental Retardation Protein). FMRP is an RNA binding protein reported to be involved in translational control, notably at postsynaptic sites of protein synthesis as a part of a multiprotein/mRNA complex. One of the FMRP interactors, NUFIP1, is an RNA binding protein with an expression profile matching that of FMRP. We now show that in the nucleus NUFIP1 is localized in the nuclear matrix in RNA-containing structures lying in the proximity of, but not overlapping with, sites of nascent RNA. NUFIP1 is also present in the cytoplasm, where it is associated with ribosomes, similarly to FMRP. In neurons NUFIP1 can be detected in functional synaptoneurosomes, colocalizing with ribosomes. Consistent with its subcellular localization in both nucleus and cytoplasm, we show that NUFIP1 contains a functional CRM1-dependent nuclear export signal and is able to shuttle between these two cellular compartments. These findings suggest the involvement of NUFIP1 in the export and localization of mRNA and, in association with FMRP, in the regulation of local protein synthesis near synapses.